Of Lovers and Lions
by NOOO-NOT-HEDWIG
Summary: It is after the final battle and the Golden Trio, along with most of the survivors of their year, have returned to Hogwarts to re-sit their final year. Thinking that this year they will finally be normal, they are shocked by the unexpected acquittal and return of Draco Malfoy, and intrigued by the arrival of a strange new girl in their year. Who is she and why is she at Hogwarts?
1. Acquitted!

**Title: **Of Lovers And Lions

**Summary:** _It is after the final battle and the Golden Trio, along with most of the survivors of their year, have returned to Hogwarts to re-sit their final year. Thinking that this year they will finally be normal, they are shocked by the unexpected acquittal and return of Draco Malfoy, and intrigued by the arrival of a strange new girl in their year. Who is she and why is she suddenly at Hogwarts? Secrets, especially romantic ones, cannot be hidden forever as Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron delve into the mystery._

**Main Characters:** Draco Malfoy, Amirina D'Carlton (OC), Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley.

**Other Characters:** basically anyone from the HP universe.

**Shipping:** [Ron W., Hermione G.] [Harry P., Ginny W.] and [Draco M., OC].

**Time/Universe:** Post-Second Wizarding War.

**Genre:** Romance/Mystery

**May contain traces of Draco-worship and Ron-bashing.**

**Oh and most importantly: HEDWIG, REMUS, TONKS, AND FRED ARE ALIVE. DOBBY IS DEAD.**

**DISCLAIMER:**** Sadly I do not own anything that resembles characters or places in the writings of J K Rowling or any other authors whose work may slip in here; however the character of Amirina Carlton and all other characters derived from her I will lay claim to **

Chapter 1: Acquitted?!

As he sat rigidly in the cold steel chair he could feel the hatred in the piercing gazes that came from every direction in the small, dark and slightly stuffy room. He knew were directed at him. Half the wizarding world seemed to be tuned into the events transpiring in this chamber, the events that were undoubtedly focused purely on him. Darn that sounded arrogant!

_Well not really when you think about it,_ an annoying voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like his father reminded him. _This is after all YOUR trial._

Yes, it was his trial. He was the center of attention for once, not Harry Potter, not Ronald Weasley, and certainly not that Hermione Granger. They were present, yes, and they were testifying, yes, but they were not the main feature today. But for once Draco Malfoy was not glad of the opportunity to steal the limelight from the Golden Trio. Today was definitely not a good day to be the center of attention.

He allowed a slight frown to grace his otherwise perfectly sculpted mask of indifference. Since when had he stopped mentally insulting the trio of Gryffindorks?

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley sat in the front seats on the left side of the court chamber. They watched the pale platinum blonde in front of them curiously as he seemed to frown at nothing in particular. Hermione was the first to say what was on all of their minds.

"You would think that he would be more scared than this, after all, it is his life that is up for debate today" she murmured.

He didn't look any different to the boy they had gone to school with, in fact he looked far more at ease than when they had last seen him on the final day of the war. All they could discern was that he didn't seem in the slightest bit worried, which in itself was worrying.

"You're right, as always" Harry replied, "but hey, maybe he thinks he can still find his way out of this."

"But how? The ministry has taken all assets related even in the slightest to the Malfoy family, and most if not all of his father's contacts are dead or already convicted Deatheaters." Hermione's brow crinkled as she thought. "Malfoy isn't stupid, his grades were very close to mine before the war. He must know this isn't going to end well. Unless.."

"Who cares?" Ron interrupted. "I just hope he gets what he deserves, just like his father."

"Ronald!" Hermione admonished.

Just last week they had sat in these same seats and watched as notorious death-eater Lucius Malfoy completely fell apart at his trial. He had begged, pleaded, and even screamed for a more merciful sentence as the Wizagmont had deemed him beyond reproach. He had been dragged from the chair that the younger Malfoy now sat in, his wife Narcissa had shed only a few silent tears before her face became an impenetrable mask again. To the untrained eye, it would seem as if his own wife didn't care that they had sentenced him to death via the Dementor's Kiss.

A sentence that, in the future, maybe carried out with the younger Malfoy at his side, who would probably be next in line at the conclusion of the proceedings they were now watching. In their minds, Draco Malfoy should have been bloody terrified. But he wasn't. He was about to be, at the very least, sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban and he didn't seem even the slightest bit perturbed.

Their musings were brought to an end as the loud bang of a mallet on a desk echoed around the court room. Dressed in standard magenta robes, the Jury filed into their benches and sat down quietly, several not taking their eyes off of the young Malfoy, among them Percy Weasley. An elderly wizard dressed in floor length blue robes appeared at the front of the dais, casting a quick _sonorus_.

"All rise for the arrival of the honorable Kingsley Shaklebolt, Minister of Magic."

With a quick flourish of purple and gold robes, Kingsley made his way up to the center of the panel of judges and took a seat in the largest wooden booth.

"The Wizagmont is now in session. Today's case is the involvement, or lack thereof, of a Mr. Draconis Lucius Malfoy in the practicing of the dark arts and other illegal magic." The wizard in blue continued. "Also the accused stands trial for potential involvement in the second rising and the actions of the Dark Lord, Voldemort, that led to the second wizarding war."

He looked around the room slowly.

"Is there anything else that needs to be raised in this court?"

After a moments silence, Ron's voice was the only one that sounded out loudly in reply.

"I don't suppose I can legally have him charged for being a slimy git but I want that noted please."

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Draco rolled his eyes and tried to suppress a death glare at Weaselby for his loud-mouthed comment, but inside he was silently grateful as a few members of the gathered crowd sniggered and the tension in the room eased just a tiny bit.

The stern-looking elderly wizard in blue looked over in Ron's direction.

"Noted Mr. Weasley, but please keep your opinions to yourself or I will have to have you escorted from the courtroom."

Ron pouted and sat back down.

The wizard then looked Draco in the eye.

"Have you anything to say in defense of these claims Mr. Malfoy?"

"I don't want this to go on any longer than you do, so here's what I'm willing to do to help you. I am willing to give you full access to the truth through the use of _Veritiserum_.."

Loud gasps echoed through the courtroom as many looked at the younger Malfoy in shock. Hermione was one of them. She looked at Draco with wide eyes, shaking her head slightly in confusion. The wizard in blue banged his gavel and called for order loudly, and the crowded room slowly hushed.

"However" Draco began again, "I do have one condition on which this will happen."

"Here we go, what's the ferret up to now" Draco heard Ron moan.

"And what is this condition Mr. Malfoy?" asked Kingsley carefully.

"Only you, the other judges, and the jury members can witness my testimony, it can never be public knowledge." Draco answered calmly with a steady voice, looking the Minister straight in the eyes as whispering started up in the crowd again.

Kingsley and the other judges conferred only for a minute before the gavel banged once more and the room fell silent.

"We accept your terms Mr. Malfoy. All members of the public are to leave the courtroom please."

Draco caught Hermione lagging behind the others as she walked out of the courtroom, giving him another worried look.

"Not to worry Granger, as I heard you rightly point out not too long ago to Potter and Weaselby, I'm not stupid. I know what I'm doing" he told her, allowing a small smile to grace his carefully constructed mask.

Hermione gave him one last 'oh really' look just before the courtroom doors closed behind her.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Four hours later the doors to the courtroom opened again and the trio plus Ginny entered and took their seats. Malfoy was sitting in the chair where they had left him, however there was a slouch to his posture now and he clearly looked exhausted.

The gavel banged once more, and the group of friends saw Malfoy flinch at the loud noise.

"The Judges and Jury have reached a verdict" The wizard in the blue robe announced.

The courtroom went dead silent.

"Mr. Malfoy has been acquitted of all charges for Reasons Unpublicised."

"WHAT!" Bellowed Ron, an equally gob-smacked Harry, Hermione, and Ginny stood there with open mouths.

The Courtroom erupted into chaos as Draco Malfoy walked free.


	2. For Safety

**DISCLAIMER:**** Sadly I do not own anything that resembles characters or places in the writings of J K Rowling or any other authors whose work may slip in here; however the character of Amirina Carlton and all other characters derived from her I will lay claim to**

Chapter 2: For Safety

The forest whipped past beyond the window as the Hogwarts Express picked up speed, leaving King's Cross Station far behind and bringing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ever closer.

"I just can't believe he got away Scott-free!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing down a copy of the daily prophet in confused anger.

"Who's Scott?" Ron immediately questioned.

"It's a muggle expression Ronald, which you would know if you paid any attention in muggle studies!" Hermione said in an exasperated voice. "I hope you two are going to study more this year, because I'm taking everything except Divination and I won't have time to help you every time you're too lazy to do the homework!"

"Not even a little bit?" Ron asked, growing paler.

"We'll be fine, anyway how hard can it be, it's not as if we're going to be spending all of our time chasing Horcruxes or defeating Voldemort this year is it?" Harry offered up to Ron as comfort. "Don't worry, this year will be our year, finally things will be, to at least some degree, normal."

Hermione smiled at the thought before looking down at her watch.

"Merlin!" She exclaimed. "I'm late for the Head's Meeting! I've got to run, see you two at the prefect's meeting. Bye"

"Bye" Harry and Ron replied in unison.

"When's the Prefect's Meeting again Harry?" Ron asked

"I have no clue..." Harry replied nonchalantly.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Elsewhere in another compartment, an unfamiliar face peered out the window at the unfamiliar scenery, trying desperately to keep up the mask of cool composure that settled over her face.

_It'll be fine _she reassured herself for what must have been the hundredth (or was that thousandth) time. _I'm just in a completely different country, going to a completely new school, full of completely new people with not a single clue as to who I can trust. _Sarcasm slipped into her thoughts. _What could possibly go wrong. _

When she jumped at a small jolt the train gave due to a bump in the tracks she mentally chided herself. _If Madame Maxine thought this place would be safer then I cannot disrespect her by distrusting her judgement. She does, after all, only want to keep me safe._

At the thought of her beloved Headmistress (_ex-headmistress now, Amirina) _a sudden pang of loss came over her. It was still settling in when she travelled by port-key to London, but now it was painfully clear in her head. She could never return to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. She would never again see Gabrielle or Lieucindana or Mieka, or any of the other people she knew from there.

It wasn't safe.

But Hogwarts was. Madame Maxine had been in contact with the Minister for Magic and the new Headmistress of Hogwarts to arrange a safe haven for her. Her new Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, had gone to a lot of trouble to make her feel more at home, she was even given an honorary position as a prefect due to her grades. Yet it still felt dangerous to Amirina to be going so far from everything she once associated with the word comfort.

Comfort. Not home, comfort. Home, by technicality was the United Kingdom. She was born and raised there, or so Madam Maxine had told her. She personally couldn't remember. To keep her safe, her father had apparently sent her overseas at the age of seven, away from the main group of the Dark Lord's followers. She hadn't seen another member of her family since then.

Jolted out of her memories by another bump in the tracks, Amirina D'Carlton glanced down at her watch. It was five minutes until the start of the prefect's meeting down the other end of the train, she had better get moving. It wouldn't do to be late when meeting any of her classmates for the first time or they may not take her seriously.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Hermione was somewhere between starting to get angry and starting to panic. Harry and Ron had not shown up and it was nearly time to start the meeting. Only half of the other prefects had shown up and those who had were Slytherin or Ravenclaw and were in no way inclined to listen to her. To add to all of that, the head boy, Draco Malfoy, was in no way going to help her. He never ceased to amaze. First the get out of jail free stunt, now Head Boy.

Precisely five minutes after she had initially tried to get the attention of her fellow school leaders, she had had enough. She cast a quick wand-less _sonorus _and gave up any pretence of being polite.

"QUIET!" her voice sounded above all of the idle chatter and loud gossiping of the assembled sixth, seventh, and eighth years.

"No need to shout Granger, we're not deaf!" hollered Blaise Zabini, one of the few returning eighth year Slytherins.

"Obviously you haven't cleaned your ears out all summer Blaise, Hermione has been trying to get the attention of the room for a good five minutes." Malfoy intoned beside her.

"Hermione now is it?" Blaise grinned cheekily.

"We have to share a dorm. If I want to survive the year, I figure its in my best interests to be civil." Draco replied.

"We can discuss the remarkable appearance of Draco's manners later, right now we need to sort out duties." Hermione politely interrupted, but before she could continue there are a dainty knock at the door.

"Come in" Draco called curiously.

At the sound of his voice, the door opened quietly and a girl with blonde hair and startlingly golden eyes peeked around the corner.

"I'm so sorry to intrude, but is this the prefect's meeting?" the girl asked quietly with a slight French accent.

"Yes, Can I help you?" Hermione asked, a little peeved at being interrupted

"I'm supposed to be here, sorry I'm late, I got a little lost." the girl replied.

"Name?" Hermione asked promptly.

"Amirina D'Carlton"

"Ah, you're the eighth year transfer from Beauxbatons" Draco politely ushered her in. "McGonagall told me to keep an eye out and to introduce you. I'm Draco Malfoy, Head Boy and Slytherin Prince. This is Hermione Granger, Head Girl and Chief Know-It-All, and these are the rest of the prefects, except two who haven't turned up yet. Please have a seat."

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

The prefects carriage was warm and cosy, with reds, blues, yellows, and greens decorating the walls. Amirina sat down daintily beside the head boy on one of the plush leather seats. He seemed nice and was undeniably cute, but he was definitely a Pureblood. It was something she had learned to be wary of. After Hermione had given her and the others their duty timetables, Amirina decided she could make an interesting friend. However she was too busy to talk, so Amirina turned to Draco for answers to her questions.

"Draco, I have some quick questions, do you have time to chat?" she asked.

"Sure, fire away" he replied casually.

"What is Slytherin? And why are there four colours on the walls?" She asked quietly

"Slytherin is one of the four houses of Hogwarts, represented by the colours on the wall." he smiled. "When you join Hogwarts you are sorted into a house. If you are kind, you go into Hufflepuff, which is yellow. If you are knowledgeable you go into Ravenclaw, which is blue. If you are brave you go into Gryffindor, which is red. And last but not least if you are cunning you go into Slytherin, which is green." he explained.

"How will I know what house I belong in?" Amirina replied, worry evident in her voice.

"Oh that's the magical part my dear." the boy who had introduced himself as Blaise interrupted. "We rely on a talking hat to tell us" he continued with a grin.

"Where will I find a talking hat?" Amirina asked Draco, somewhat confused.

"It'll be at the feast tonight. Don't worry, you'll be guided through it." Draco replied with a smile. "We're nearly there, you might want to go freshen up for the feast."

"Thanks" Amirina replied and slipped out of the carriage.

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~L&L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"Whoa she's a catch!" Blaise exclaimed as he plonked into the now vacant seat next to Draco.

"Quite." Draco agreed quietly. "She has enough on her plate already though, not a wise idea to add you into the mix. Let her settle in before you launch a full charm offensive"

"You're not interested in her?" Blaise persisted.

"I never said that now did I?" Draco replied with a knowing smile.

"May the best man win?" Blaise held out a hand for Draco to shake.

"She's not a prize Blaise, you better not pursue her just for sport." Draco replied tersely before getting up and leaving the carriage.


End file.
